Strategic Direction of Harley Davidson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Direction of Harley Davidson - Essay Example It has been recommended that the best way forward for Harley-Davidson is to expand overseas and outsource its production and assembly lines, especially in emerging economies like China and India. To its credit, the company’s management has already been making efforts in this direction. Summary of Strategic Direction & the Balanced Scorecard From the analysis of the company’s own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats to the motorcycle industry at large and the heavy motorbike segment in particular, it has been suggested that the best way forward for Harley- Davidson at this juncture is to expand overseas in emerging economies like China and India and also to think of setting up production and assembly lines for the local manufacture or assembly of H-D motorcycles. This will not only help lower costs, as Asian labor is cheaper than the American or European equivalent but also to increase market size, revenues and profits. The recessionary tren d in Western economies makes to difficult to achieve sales and profit goals there. It is therefore recommended to spread the risks and even create a production or assembly hub in Asia, from where finished products can be transported to areas where there is a demand for them. Coming to the matter of the Balanced Scorecard, this will compare actual results attained to an agreed target value for financial and non-financial measures, such as Financial, Customer, Internal Processes and Learning and Growth. For H-D’s agreed best-recommended strategy, we could have actual sales in units and type of motorbike, revenues and profits earned, type of customers targeted in terms of earning capacity and lifestyle, costs and expenses to set up production/ assembly plants in India and China and comparison of common and differentiating factors relating to customer choices, culture, purchase behavior and lifestyle in different areas of the globe. Stakeholder Interests Of course, in todayâ€⠄¢s environment, a company has a number of different stakeholders and each of them have different interests in the company and its operations. For example, creditors and banks would like to see that it has enough revenues and profitability to cover its interest payments, as well as make the required installments of principal and interest at the agreed date and rates. They would also look at the debt and equity balance before deciding to lend. Shareholders would expect a return in terms of capital gains and dividends. Employees would be looking for job stability and a fair wage. In this way, Harley Davidson has to satisfy the interests of various stakeholders at the same time. Company History, Purpose & Goals Harley Davidson Inc. was started by a group of friends and entrepreneurs at the beginning of the 1900s. The name of the company is, in fact, a combination of the two families which combined their skills and efforts to get the business off the ground.  

Walmart analysis Essay Example for Free

Walmart analysis Essay Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart in 1962. He was a businessman who started working in retail in 1940 at a J. C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1945, he ran a retail store in Newport, Arkansas, part of a chain of variety stores named Ben Franklin. Instead of renewing his lease, however, he decided to open a new Ben Franklin franchise in Bentonville, Arkansas and called it â€Å"Walton’s Five and Dime. † He succeeded by selling at a discount. Wal-Mart’s purpose best exemplifies what the company still stands for today: â€Å"Saving People Money So They Can Live Better† (Walmartstores. com) Within five years, the company had grown to 24 stores throughout Arkansas, reaching sales of $12. 6 million. The company officially incorporated on October 31, 1969 as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. In 1970, it opened its first distribution center and home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. By this time, it had 1,500 associates working out of 38 stores. Its sales were $44. 2 million. In this same year, it began to trade its stock as a publicly held company and was soon listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By 1971, it had stores in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It expanded into Texas in 1973, and Kentucky and Mississippi by 1974, and Texas in 1975. By this time, it had 125 stores and 7,500 associates, with sales of $340. 3 million. By its 25th anniversary in 1987, it had 200,000 associates working out of 1,198 stores. Sales were $15. 9 billion. It also completed a satellite network that linked all operating units with its Bentonville home office via two-way voice and data transmission and one-way video communication. It helped its home office to track inventory and sales and communicate instantly with its stores. In 1988, Sam Walton turned over the CEO role to David Glass. However, he remained the Chairman of the Board. In this same year, the company opened its first Wal-Mart Supercenter in Washington, Missouri. In 1995 it entered South America, beginning with Argentina and Brazil. In 1998, the company introduced the â€Å"Neighborhood Market† with three stores in Arkansas. In 2000, H. Lee Scott became Wal-Mart’s President and CEO. Sales increased to $165 billion. By 2002 it had been listed at America’s largest corporation on Fortune 500 list, with profits of $6. 7 billion. By 2005, it had sales of $312. 4 billion, 6,200 facilities worldwide and 1. 6 million associates. Back Ground and Purpose of the Study Wal-Mart is known as a store where you can go shop and save a buck. They are friendly to the average consumer of moderate income, and in this market they have thrived. The purpose of the study is to analyze why Wal-Mart stores Inc. has their own internal issue. This report will provide a back ground of the study and focus on the methodology, provide findings, recommendations and implementation plans for the root causes of internal issue. . Findings and recommendations Decision Making- RESOURCES A. Planning Findings They are a highly competitive company in an industry and economic time where lower prices are exactly what consumers are looking for. Wal-Mart has found that the reason they are so competitive is through their cheaper prices as compared to most of their competitors. This can create an effect so that many suppliers fight over their business. This in return gives Wal-Mart great bargaining power over whom they buy products from, and they can basically manipulate the original system/relationship of suppliers and retailers. They can almost in a sense control what price suppliers offer. Wal-Mart has great deals, and those deals can bring almost anyone into their store. Wal-Mart has a vast array of customers, most of which at some point or another probably were loyal customers of another company who opposed the idea of Wal-Mart entering in their community. At some point or another most of these same people have gone into Wal-Mart to see what all the hype is about and they found it in the low prices. Within this section is discussed Wal-Mart’s internal analysis of the value brought to and perceived by the consumers through the value and rarity of their products, limitability of their practices, and organization. By evaluating these four categories within their company it is easier to appraise which areas are strong and which are weak and, subsequently, need revision. To begin the main resources and capabilities of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. must be identified. As with many companies a major resource of Wal-Mart’s is their human capital; another is their image – concerning their layout of their stores, product quality, and satisfaction of their employees; Wal-Mart’s products and brands are a valuable resource; and Wal-Mart’s geographic locations are an important resource. B. Direction As we have reviewed and studied the strategy, culture, finances and the challenges and successes at Wal-Mart, there are many strategies we see that the company must undertake to hold its dominate position and drive further growth. Herein, we define our top four. These core strategies include: rebuild and recreate its reputation in the face of recent challenges; continue to show price leadership; improve the customer experience; and drive international growth. The financial performance of Wal-Mart continues to be strong. It delivered another record year in 2008 as total net sales increased 8. 6 percent to $375 billion. Yet, earnings growth rates and same store sales have slowed. And, the company faces a number of challenges to its operating procedures, reputation and growth prospects. Given the company’s stated objectives of â€Å"growing operating income faster than sales† and increasing shareholder value, the strategies we recommend will directly affect the company’s ability to overcome present challenges and meet these primary financial objectives. Reputation and Brand A key strategic objective, perhaps the most critical for the company going forward, is to rebuild and recreate its reputation. While brand and reputation are closely interlinked, author and business consultant, John Foley, differentiates the two attributes in this manner: â€Å"Brand is inside out. Reputation is outside in† (Foley 3). Wal-Mart’s reputation has waned in the past several years and, according to Foley, â€Å"the company’s reputation problems are dragging down its brand and business performance† (Foley). This conclusion seems to be shared by a number of analysts. Further validation can be found in a recent report (written in May 2007) by the company’s former advertising agency, GSDM. This report plainly states â€Å"Wal-Mart’s #1 overall business challenge is reputation. † Among the conclusions, the report states â€Å"(a) Wal-Mart’s consumer ratings as a â€Å"company I trust and respect† have steadily declined over the last two years, and (b) Shopping at Wal-Mart used to mean saving money and being patriotic, being a member of the community, being a part of the â€Å"American Dream. † Today, it just means saving money. All value no values† (Kofinis). So, with this challenge facing the company, there are several areas where the company can apply focus and action to help recreate and strengthen its reputation. Our recommendations for this strategic objective are: Ensure that â€Å"associates† are compensated fairly and receive proper benefits. Put programs in place to improve healthcare coverage for the workers in the stores and throughout the distribution network. Sam Walton’s insistence at the formation of the company on treating employees as partners, or associates, was heralded for years. This approach to managing must be reinforced through new benefits and compensation programs. Demonstrate leadership in societal issues including the environment, energy and healthcare. Wal-Mart’s power and influence are awesome and these forces can each be used to positively impact a broad number of initiatives around improving the environment, reducing carbon footprints and making healthcare more accessible and affordable to consumers. The company has started programs such as â€Å"Sustainability 360† in which it focuses on selling environmentally conscious goods. In 2007, US Stores â€Å"sold 145 million energy efficient light bulbs – enough to eliminate the need for three new coal-fired power plants in the United States. † In healthcare, Wal-Mart initiated a $4 prescription program to help consumers save money on critical prescription drugs. We recommend that programs like these be expanded in scale and that marketing and public relations dollars be increased to improve visibility to this work. Companies possessing a strong brand can easily topple without the support of a strong reputation. Given this and our strong belief that brand and reputation are primary building blocks to company growth and customer loyalty, we absolutely believe that this is the #1 priority the company must address. Price Leadership The greatest area of emphasis in Wal-Mart’s brand and company history has always been â€Å"Low Prices – Always. † And, while this emphasis continues today, we believe the company must continue to demonstrate leadership in this area. Value shoppers still represent the largest consumer base at Wal-Mart stores. Fulfilling this strategy will involve continued â€Å"early adoption† of innovative technologies, such as RFID and a new work scheduling system to support increasing efficiencies that lead to lower consumer prices. Customer Experience The next strategic area for the company is the enhancement of the customer experience. Also playing a factor in strengthening reputation, the company must find new ways to make the customer experience more enjoyable and impactful. This suggests new ways to reach expanded customer segments beyond â€Å"low price shoppers. † Besides the obvious merchandising strategies of optimizing product mix and bringing in new products that attract these customers, Wal-Mart must consider changes to store layouts, expanding aisles, installing better lighting and improving checkout procedures. During last year’s shareholder meeting, CEO Lee Scott addressed this area of their business saying, â€Å"†¦we have to improve in our merchandising areas†¦And we have to get better at consistently executing store standards and customer service, especially around the checkout. † (Forbes) International Growth In fiscal year 2008, Wal-Mart opened its 3000th International unit and grew sales by 17. 5%, representing $90. 6 billion of its total revenues. (Annual Report) An existing priority for the company, Wal-Mart’s ambition for higher growth rates will most likely be found overseas. Thus, we recommend continued investment in and focus on international markets be the fourth of our key strategies. International growth should be pursued through organic means and acquisition, both of which Wal-Mart has executed successfully since first expanding overseas in the early 1990’s. Regardless of the means of entry into markets, the company must understand and adapt to local consumer preferences, customs, attitudes and expectations. A great example of this comes from Wal-Mart’s foray into China. Among many adaptations, â€Å"the company had to accept that most Chinese tend to buy in small quantities, and that language differences required tailoring marketing approaches for product labeling and brand names† (Govindarajin). The sheer size of populations in markets throughout Asia and other untapped markets make this a â€Å"must pursue† strategy for the world’s largest retailer. Organizing Organizing is defined as the assembly and coordination of the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 20) This function is also referred to as the function used to build a dynamic organization. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 20) When looking at the organization process Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart made sure from the very beginning to keep up with his competitors. In 1972 Kmart expanded and at that time there were 15 Wal-Mart stores and Sam Walton could not afford to expand by building so he offered Wal-Mart stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Due to the large profit that occurred because of the sales of stock Wal-Mart could expand and by the 1980s they had 276 stores. Organizing is comprised of several organizational resources: physical assets, knowledge, money, and human resources. Resources are organized effectively by the use of tools such as charts and or graphs. These tools will present the various functions of management for instance human resources activities and responsibilities, employee duties and responsibilities, recording relationships amongst upper and lower management. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 290) Within each department there are specific method being used which helps them in managing the resources provided to them. For example accounting and finance departments commonly use Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets and software such as QuickBooks. The management and maintaining of the human resources department is vital when evaluating the effectiveness of the organizing function. â€Å"People are assets not commodities†. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 337) Managers as well as their companies must work together to hire the right individuals for the job. Human resource management is responsible for staffing, training, performance appraisals, rewards, labor relations, wages, and benefits. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 354) Worldwide Wal-Mart employs about 2. 1 million associates, and depending on the size of the store there can be about 225 to 350 more associates in each store. According to Fortune Magazine 2010 reported that Wal-Mart ranked first on their list of most admired companies. This favorable rating is due to their sustainability leadership, corporate compassion, and employment opportunity. Wal-Mart’s staff practices the three basic beliefs and values established by Sam Walton in 1962. They are respect for individuals, services to our customers, and striving for excellence. Micromanaging is kept to a minimum and teamwork is highly encouraged by a style of leadership implemented back in the days of Mr. Walton called â€Å"servant leadership† where leaders work together with their employees. Wal-Mart also has an open door policy any issues which are questionable whether they ethical or immoral are brought to the attention of the store manager, market manager, and or the human resources department. In the past years Wal-Mart has faced several lawsuits in which their ethics has been questioned. Their policies of hiring, promoting, and equality have all been questioned in cases like the sexual discrimination of women in June 2001. Wal-Mart business practices article of 2010 reported that a survey conducted by Wal-Mart indicated a rapid turnover of 70 % of employees that leave the company within the first year of employment and stated that it is attributed to the lack of recognition and inadequate pay of the employees. (Business Practices, para. 5) Despite these various issues that Wal-Mart has been faced with and the speculation that the human resources department does a poor job is just that. Wal-Mart in fact aims to take very good care of their employees. They claim that their organization is one of the best to workplaces, which offers various health and wellness benefits. Wal-Mart offers 80 % coverage on to its eligible employees. Health care benefits such as doctor’s visits and annual checkups, pharmacy benefits, dental, business travel accident insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage (Walmartstores. com, 2010) Wal-Mart like many other organizations is affected by many factors such as competitive pressures, insurance costs, market trends, economic conditions, cost of goods and services, and unemployment. (Walmartstores. com, 2010) Yet another issue they are constantly faced with is their wages. Average Wal-Mart employees make anywhere from $ 12,000 to $ 17,000 which causes them to have to turn to the state for public assistance. Further reports show that employees on average take home less than $250 a week. (Business Practices, 2010) Full time employees make between $6 and $7. 50 an hour and work from 28-40 hour weeks. According to Business Practices 2010 this pay scale indicates that employees of Wal-Mart with dependents are below the poverty line. As mentioned previously the foreign exchange rate is a factor that Wal-Mart as a large retailer must beware of when maintaining their monetary and financial resources. Wal-Mart reported that fiscal year 2009 foreign exchange rates had a negative effect on international net sales by 2. 3 billion. (Walmartstores. com, 2010) When compared to overall company net sales there was still a slight increase indicated despite the negative effect. Wal-Mart also offer its employees various financial benefits to compensate stock option plans, employee’s discounts, profit sharing (401k plan), retirement accounts, and holiday and when determining the success of an organization. Being mindful and utilizing the organizing function will help not only determine and maintain current success but will aid in future and in preventing failure.

Women in a Global Economy :: Globalization Economics Essays

Women in a Global Economy The Globalization of the market and corporations have created problems for women everywhere. Because of the search for a higher profit, corporations in the United States move their factories to â€Å"developing† countries. There, they can force the workers to work longer than an eight hour day, and the wages they pay to their employees are considerably less than the minimum wage in the U.S.. When the women in these factories make an effort to fight back by protesting or striking for better pay, or better working conditions, the corporations simply move out. There are many other nations who can work just as hard without all the complaints. So, because these women ask to be treated decently, they are denied a job. This practice has also created problems for women factory workers in the U.S. because the factories here are all being shut down. I knew one woman who lost her job at Motorola because they moved their testing ground to Mexico. The variety of middle class jobs has decre ased in the U.S., creating poorer poor and wealthier rich, who get their money directly or indirectly through the exploitations of poorer countries. The most interesting and best summarizing paragraph of the reading was about The Myth of Progress. (pg. 267) It states that progress is equated with economic growth and ignores â€Å"intellectual, social, moral and spiritual dimensions†, and that this definition persuades people to value themselves according to the materials they are able to obtain. This can create a world of problems. By stressing money and material it is easy for some to forget how it is obtained, both in a methodical, and a humanistic sense. By this I am referring specifically to the people of the three classes in the U.S.. Poor people instead of concentrating on education or buying assets or spiritually connecting and becoming a leader, tend to trade their labor for some money, then use all of it to buy â€Å"stuff†. They’ll buy clothes, or DVDs, or trinkets, and they feel good about these purchases because they got a good deal, and it increases their material value. None of them will think about where or how it was assembled, because they are distanced from it, and are content with their new acquisition. The middle class trade stressful working days for a little more money, with which they use to buy liabilities like cars or boats, again not thinking about the how they came to be.

The Inequality Between the Low and High Class in Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America and it has the strongest economy in Latin America. The country has the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. Brazil is rich in natural resources and it focus on agriculture and industrial power. Despite the improvement on income distribution and bringing the middle class population to 95 million people which is a little bit more than half of the population in the country, poverty in rural areas are still very severe in Brazil. According to Rural Poverty Portal, â€Å"In the country as a whole, about 35 percent of the population lives in poverty, on less than two dollars a day. (1) The population in Brazil is about 197 million and with 35 percent of population living in poverty is equal to two times the population in Canada. Most of the poverties in Brazil are concentrated in the North East region of Brazil and it can be considered the single largest concentration of rural poverty in South America. The North East region in Brazil is the undeveloped part of the country where the population have no access to education, health care, technology and even clean water. Several causes of poverty in Brazil are land tenure, lack of access to a good education and also skill training. Through the literary short stories and Brazilian made films, we can somehow picture how different is the life between the lower and higher class families. The inequality is a very big issue in the country and even though the stories and films are fiction, it still shows us a reality that Brazil has been facing for a long period, which is the big gap between the rich and the poor. One of the films that shows the poverty in the rural areas of Brazil is â€Å"Behind the Sun†, directed by Walter Salles. We can see how the violence is a very big problem in the story because of a land dispute between a family and neighbour. According to Scielo, â€Å"It is customary to state that the poorer strata of the population are more violent and that they cause the social disorder and disturbances that assail the country. † ( Minayo, 1) It is true that the lower class would be more involved in violence since they are tired of working so hard and not getting anywhere, and it affects them emotionally. Furthermore, the film starts with a background of very dark orange which may represent the very hot weather in Brazil and it makes the viewers to somehow feel the tiredness, the hard working people in rural areas in Brazil. The film begins with a very depressing color which almost represents â€Å"hopelessness†. The scene that most caught my attention and I think it was very meaningful to the viewers is when the oxes start to turning in circle over and over again. It brings a significant message of no matter how hard the people work in rural areas; they will always be in the same routine and will never be able to have the chance to succeed in life. Moreover, as we could see, one of the main characters, Pacu, a very simple and humble boy, speaks a Portuguese with several grammatical errors such as â€Å"mais melhor† and â€Å"eles que tava perdido†. Illiteracy is another big problem in Brazil, especially with the lower class population, who live in the rural areas. Lower class people that live in the interior do not value education as much as people from higher classes. Sometimes it is because they are so focused on working to support their family that they do not have time to think about educating their children. Other times, they do not even have money to buy food, so how are they going to support their children to go school? Many children who are born in lower class families do not have the opportunity to be educated, not because they do not want; however, it is because their parents cannot afford and they are incapable of sending them to school. There are approximately 14 million people that are illiterate in Brazil; which means that they cannot read and write. Fortunately, in 2003, Brazil launched the â€Å"Bolsa Familia†, where the government support poor families with 140 Reais which is equivalent to 80 dollars to benefit the family to send their children to school, accessing health care and other social assistances. In addition, the literary story â€Å"The Hour of the Star† by Clarice Lispector also helps the reader to imagine how the lower class women's lives seem like. In recent years, women had played a big role in the contribution to the Brazilian economy. Today, Brazil even has a woman president in charge of the country, Dilma Rousseff. Wealthy women in Brazil seem to always be able to have a free pass to succeed in life, although many lower class women in Brazil do not receive the same opportunity. Higher class women always succeed thorough high society connection or using the power of the money. Macabea, the main character, from â€Å"The Hour of the Star† can represent all the lower class women in Brazil. Since Macabea lost her parents when she was very young, she became an orphan. Therefore, that is probably one of the reasons why she had difficulties succeeding in life due to the absence of parents supporting and guiding her. According to SOS Children’s Village, â€Å"In regions that are marked by high unemployment rates, children often face a substantial risk of growing up in an unstable domestic environment. â€Å"(1) It is possible to imagine how an orphan girl would need to go through without parent’s guidance. Moreover, the story also highlights that due to Macabea status of being poor, her lover, Olimpio, believes that he would not have any chance of advancing in life being with her. Instead, he chooses to date her co-worker, Gloria, who was smarter and prettier than Macabea. In addition, the title of the narrative, â€Å"The Hour of the Star†, is about Macabea who wanted to be a cinema actress. Unfortunately, people would not pay attention on her and the fact of her being poor, there was almost no chance for her to become who she wanted to become, which is a very sad reality that actually exists in Brazil. In Brazil, the poor still suffers inequality, they have almost no chance to succeed in life and they are pretty much ignored by the society. The poor is almost invisible to the society and the poor keeps getting poorer. For Macabea, she only sort of becomes famous after being hit by a Mercedes Benz, which is a â€Å"luxurious and imported item†. She did not become â€Å"famous† because she was hit in an accident, but the fact is because the â€Å"Mercedes Benz† was involved in it. People are always curious about the rich and the famous. They are not interested in the â€Å"insignificant† lower class people that are considered a burden to the Brazilian society. According to a journal article, â€Å"For upper-class women, the result is a life of almost total leisure, in which they have servants to do all the work. For lower-class women, their survival often depends upon their ability to obtain one of these jobs. Approximately one-third of the women employed in Brazil work as household workers, including cooks, housekeepers, and child care workers†. (Brazil, 1987) Most of lower class women in Brazil work as housekeepers and child care workers to middle and high class families. Due to low or no education, they are only able to afford low skilled jobs. Yet, about two years ago, Brazilian television program has launched a reality show named â€Å"Mulheres Ricas†, which means rich women. The reality show is about five very wealthy women who travel by private jet, eat from gold plates and women who would spend many thousands of dollars in clothing and imported bags. The show has been criticized internationally by comparing them to 11. 5 million Brazilian living in slums. The reason of the criticism is because it somehow proves hat the higher class only care about their own comfort by ignoring the real issues that is occurring in the country, which is the severe poverty. In Brazil, there is definitely a very big gap between the poor and the rich. Although the poverty is a big issue in the country, according to a recent report, Brazil has been creating 19 millionaires a day since 2007. Yet, the poverty in Brazil is causing several other problems such as th e drug traffic. Most of the times, the people who are involved in drug traffics, are the lower classes people. We can find people from all ages involved in the traffic. According to SOS Children’s village, â€Å"In the country’s largest cities, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, children without parental care often end up on the streets where they are vulnerable to gang violence, sexual abuse and drug addiction. â€Å"(1) Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil, has a place called â€Å"favela† where the drug traffic has been a problem for several years. The movie, â€Å"Elite Squad: The Enemy Within† by Jose Padilha, illustrates a â€Å"fiction-reality† that occurs in Rio de Janeiro. The movie unquestionably shows to the viewers that â€Å"human rights† do not exist in Brazil, since the higher class people are the ones that hold all the power while the poor are not even recognized by the society. In the film, it mentions that the police would invade the â€Å"favelas† killing all the poor people involved in the drug traffic; however, they would not invade luxury apartments killing or arresting people because they receive some commission from the rich. In other words, the police officers are tipped with the money from the drug traffic from â€Å"higher class† people. Most of the times, if a person from a higher class commit a crime; they would use their money to avoid getting arrested and going jail. According to The Guardian, the Brazilian jail's population has doubled since the year 2000 due to the drug traffic. Of course, the majority of people who are in jail are from the lower class. Additionally, there is a scene in the film that might have caught many viewers attention. It is when the military killed one of the members in jail. The scene somehow send us a message by saying that it was not a big deal killing one of them since they are â€Å"trouble† anyways. I believe that the movie certainly try to send a message by saying that Brazil needs to start listening to the lower class opinion and do not ignore or kill them without any reasons. The lower class and higher class people in Brazil share something similar and that is: both are humans. â€Å"Human rights† should be more clearly addressed in the country and the â€Å"Rich rights† should be banned. Most of Brazilian literary narratives and movies that we have watched in class, it involves children and adolescents working and not receiving any education. According to SOS Children’s Village, â€Å"Quite frequently, young children have to engage in labour activities in order to put food on the table for an entire family. In the state of Piaui, approximately 26 per cent of children between 10 and 15 years of age are working. † (1) Looking at the Brazilian demographic, Brazil is certainly a very young country with 25 percent of the population being under 15 year old. The country depends on these young populations for the economic and social growth in the future. Yet, looking at the national estimates, about 24,000 children and teenagers call the streets their home. The lower class children definitely have the disadvantage of not getting any education and no hope for a better future. While the higher classes children will still be the ones to succeed in life and dominate the country. If the inequality between the rich and the poor in Brazil does not change, the poor will always remain poor and it is possible that the problem can become more severe in the future. Even though many literary stories and movies composed by Brazilian authors are â€Å"just stories† or â€Å"fantasies†, some of them still try to send an indirect message to the public that â€Å"social class† in Brazil is a problem and it needs to be changed. In addition, the movie, â€Å"Four days in September†, directed by Bruno Barreto, is about a reality that happened in Brazil years ago, involving the MR8 group, who was fighting against the military dictatorship and fighting for human rights. The group was formed by some young members, who were very naive, did not have much experience in life and did not think about future consequences that they could face by being involved† in this type of activity. Thankful to this group formation, Brazil has overcome the military dictatorship. Although, the country has overcome the dictatorship, human rights are still a problem. Showing that you have money is a way to receive respect from people. In the movie, there is a scene where one of the young members of MR8 goes to a bakery to buy bread; however, the baker underestimated him by asking if he had enough money to buy. The way you dress, the way you speak and the amount of money that you hold is the way that people are going to treat you. If you dress badly and is considered part of lower class, your opinion will not even be considered and there is almost zero respect towards you. Therefore, I believe that many people in Brazil are confused between â€Å"human rights† and â€Å"class†. According to the federal government in Brazil, â€Å"The following human rights problems have been reported: unlawful killings, excessive force, beatings, abuse, and torture of detainees. †(1) Most of the times, the people who are suffering under those problems are the innocent lower class population, who is sometimes always blamed for any issue that occur in the country. In, it is correct to assume that â€Å"money† can solve anything. On the other hand, since the lower classes do not have enough money, they get severely punished for their actions or even blamed for things that they have not committed. All in all, even the literary stories and movies are fictional, the Brazilian authors or directors seem to always try to incorporate the fiction with the reality that is faced in Brazilian society. As we could see from the short stories and movies, â€Å"class† is a very big issue and it is confused with â€Å"human rights†. The poor still face several consequences while the higher classes ignore the surrounding by using â€Å"money† to solve most of their problems. Inequality between the lower class and higher class is a big issue in Brazil that has to be solved before getting worse. It is also crucial for the country to understand the difference between â€Å"human rights† and â€Å"class†. I believe that if the poor is listened and given more opportunities in the society, they will also be able to succeed in life. It will not only decrease the poverty in the country, but it will prove to the people that the people from the lower classes also have the potential, but the only thing missing is the opportunity given to them.

Modernization

Modernization in this contemporary world gives birth to emerging access to technologies that lead to the growth of social media platforms. The existence of present-day devices provides the creation of applications, programs and other networks that portrays an important role to every individual in terms of convenience. Social media platforms serve as interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the emergence and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. It provides the ability to create a mere connection in the present society and to the functions of social media. However, social media platforms transmit messages and source of effective connectedness, there are factors that contribute to its negative impacts that affect every individual in the society. The social media platforms would formulate conclusions that want to give emphasis to the factors that cultivate the anxiety within a certain individual with the usage of the media that produces a certain condition of depression. While the Social Media platforms offer a lot of benefits, this will prove that there are instances that they have disadvantages that trigger to doubt, fear or uneasiness and literally to depression. There are studies that would link between spending extended time on social media and experiencing negative mental health outcomes. The benefits of the social media platforms will provide contrast to determine whether these media channels take advantage on the development of modern technologies in the virtual world and just simply produce the impact that would lead to the association of depression and anxiety. The traditional forms of communication are in the modes of television, radio, newspapers, magazines and other printed materials. As time goes by, developments sprouted that leads to the discovery of technology that brings life to modern devices. Advancements are very rampant until social media platforms are created. Different kinds of applications and functions are available to the people to give the easiest accessibility in the form of communication. People grab the opportunities that will lessen their difficulties especially to connect to all individuals in the world in just one click. The social media platforms continue to provide all the needed operations of the people on an everyday basis. In this certain situation, the forms of social media grow depends on the demand of the people. People are introduced to modern devices like cell phones, tablets, laptops, and computers. The growth of social media platforms formed a vital role in the lives of the people. Nowadays, people only think in reaching out to social media platforms in terms of challenges and difficulties because the mere fact that revolves around their mind is that everything can be found on the Internet. The Global Digital Report of 2018, provides a data that shows that there are 7.60 billion of people in the world and the number of internet users worldwide in 2018 is 4.02 billion up 7 percent year-on-year, social media users worldwide comes with 3.20 billion up 13 percent year-on-year and users of mobile phone is 5.14 billion up 4 percent year-on-year. This only exhibits almost half of the total population in the world are now swallowed by the means of the usage of social media. The total data continues to grow that would greatly conclude that social media platforms effectively influence and encourage the people to be updated and enjoy every feature that they can provide. The Delvalle organization classifies the social media platforms into; social networking, microblogging, blogging (publishing websites), photo sharing, video sharing, and crowdsourcing. The Social Networking includes; Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, Microblogging is composed of; Twitter and Tumblr, Blogging includes; WordPress and Blogger, photo sharing composed of; Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat and Pinterest, Video Sharing includes; YouTube, Vimeo, and Periscope and Crowdsourcing are formed with Ushahidi, Inc. Among these categories, there are applications that made a name on the Internet especially on how they are adopted by the people. According to Digital Guide 1&1, Facebook is widely considered to be the mother of all social media platforms and its most basic functions consist of providing an outlet for its members to communicate with each other as well as with private companies. The power of social media platforms gives complex perspectives on the range of its usage and the extent of people they have reached out in order to portray interaction in social, economic and even political views. As social media continues to develop, the scope of the people that use its features does not limit however it increases and form a society of innovations and susceptibility. In today's generations, every individual is much thankful to acquire all the developments from their ancestors that contributes to the idea of transformation and development of new phase and era. People don't need a lot of effort and hard works to achieve their desires and necessities. Even if you are just sitting down with the presence of modern devices, anything can be access, there a lot of things you can, A lot of the parents told their children that in their times, they have to exert all their strength and perseverance to overcome every challenge in life, unlike in this current situation we are facing, everything can be controlled in your own hands. The situations in the past are the major causes of advancements because there are people who are willing to discover new things and ideas to produce a different kind of impact that would change the world for the better. Sahara Donnely as an entrepreneur in a private company states that â€Å"In every era, cultures go through numerous changes, and in recent years ours have been more impacted than anything else by social media†. The generation today cannot deny the fact that the most influential factor that brings influence and convenience to each and everyone is the discovery of social media platforms. The forms of communication have grown efficiently to unite the people and to make an impact on the progress of the country even in the world with the appearances of the platforms of social media. The website of Webmasterview of Crystal Briscode encloses a statement that â€Å"It is a fact that social media has tremendously changed the way people interact and carry on with their lives†. People are contented with the offerings of social media and they are afraid to offer themselves in the opportunities in the real world. The application of social media platforms serves as an avenue where you can communicate, purchase and even form transactions. The functions of social media help the people to be informed and updated to every activity that made up our environment. The modern technologies and also the products itself through social media platforms brought changes in the habitual practices of an individual and affects also their ability to adapt in terms of the resiliency of life. Social Media platforms have molded the life of every individual to have comfort and happiness. The Internet has its own attributes to enhance the connection within the people. As life continues to provide us with different challenges, we must not be contented with the benefits of social media platforms. It is important to find your own self with your own purpose on this earth. People must not be deprived of the advantages of social media platforms, however, we must acquire the value of learning is able to face every difficulty with confidence. Social media platforms as the major contributors to accessibility and effective communication, they provide risks also in this digital world. The children of this modern generation focus on the benefits of the modern technologies especially on discovery of new gadgets, they are not even expose to their environment. They are lost in their own world and let the social media conquers them. One Report by the Royal Society for Public Health in the UK surveyed 1500 young people, ages 14-24, to determine the effects of social media use on issues such as anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and body image. The findings show that YouTube had the most positive impact, while Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat all had negative effects on mental health. The social media platforms are used by the people to find connection, acceptance, and happiness that they could not find within their environment. Heavy use of these media channels contributes to other harmful actions and addiction that let every individual be swallowed by the chances of innovations. According to Kessler et al., 2010, Mathers and Loncar, 2006, Depression and Anxiety are associated with substantially increased morbidity and mortality and one of the victims are the young adults and youth who are engaged with social media. It may also be that using a wide variety of different social media platforms subsequently leads to depressive and anxiety symptoms. Participation in many different social media platforms may lead to multitasking between platforms, which is known to be related to poor cognitive and mental health outcomes. (Becker et al., 2013). Another assumption that would provide an explanation to the usage of social media platforms states that a study published online in Computers in Human Behavior on December 10, 2016, found that the use of multiple social media platforms is more strongly associated with depression and anxiety among young adults than time spent online. Every social media platform is a different kind of world, people cannot resist the factors that affect them and leads to mood disorders. The engagement on the Internet does not free an individual to compare and be jealous thus it triggers to a more complex disorder of anxiety and depression. In the book of David Amerland entitled â€Å"The Social Media Mind†, he states, â€Å"Social Media is addictive precisely because it gives us something which the real world lacks; it gives us immediacy, direction, and value as an individual†. The social media platforms serve as our pathway in this digital world, it gives us the enjoyment of accessibility, communication, and entrepreneurial transactions. Anything that we need in our everyday living can be made through the Internet. The current events and opportunities nowadays are driven mostly by social media platforms. Even the modern technologies produced already a platform in the industry, the people behind it must focus also on the negative impacts of these channels to control any disorders that people can acquire because of different factors. Social media platforms serve as an awareness to limit oneself with the benefits they provide and most especially with the conflicts they produce in different circumstances. People in this world must learn how to make an impact on society and not focus on how to impress other people. Anything that can be found in social media platforms that can build anger and boastfulness must be prevented instead people must focus on the positivity in life that would implant the value of happiness and contentedness within themselves so that depression can be control and mitigates its unexpected effects. Modernization Modernization in this contemporary world gives birth to emerging access to technologies that lead to the growth of social media platforms. The existence of present-day devices provides the creation of applications, programs and other networks that portrays an important role to every individual in terms of convenience. Social media platforms serve as interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the emergence and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. It provides the ability to create a mere connection in the present society and to the functions of social media. However, social media platforms transmit messages and source of effective connectedness, there are factors that contribute to its negative impacts that affect every individual in the society. The social media platforms would formulate conclusions that want to give emphasis to the factors that cultivate the anxiety within a certain individual with the usage of the media that produces a certain condition of depression. While the Social Media platforms offer a lot of benefits, this will prove that there are instances that they have disadvantages that trigger to doubt, fear or uneasiness and literally to depression. There are studies that would link between spending extended time on social media and experiencing negative mental health outcomes. The benefits of the social media platforms will provide contrast to determine whether these media channels take advantage on the development of modern technologies in the virtual world and just simply produce the impact that would lead to the association of depression and anxiety. The traditional forms of communication are in the modes of television, radio, newspapers, magazines and other printed materials. As time goes by, developments sprouted that leads to the discovery of technology that brings life to modern devices. Advancements are very rampant until social media platforms are created. Different kinds of applications and functions are available to the people to give the easiest accessibility in the form of communication. People grab the opportunities that will lessen their difficulties especially to connect to all individuals in the world in just one click. The social media platforms continue to provide all the needed operations of the people on an everyday basis. In this certain situation, the forms of social media grow depends on the demand of the people. People are introduced to modern devices like cell phones, tablets, laptops, and computers. The growth of social media platforms formed a vital role in the lives of the people. Nowadays, people only think in reaching out to social media platforms in terms of challenges and difficulties because the mere fact that revolves around their mind is that everything can be found on the Internet. The Global Digital Report of 2018, provides a data that shows that there are 7.60 billion of people in the world and the number of internet users worldwide in 2018 is 4.02 billion up 7 percent year-on-year, social media users worldwide comes with 3.20 billion up 13 percent year-on-year and users of mobile phone is 5.14 billion up 4 percent year-on-year. This only exhibits almost half of the total population in the world are now swallowed by the means of the usage of social media. The total data continues to grow that would greatly conclude that social media platforms effectively influence and encourage the people to be updated and enjoy every feature that they can provide. The Delvalle organization classifies the social media platforms into; social networking, microblogging, blogging (publishing websites), photo sharing, video sharing, and crowdsourcing. The Social Networking includes; Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, Microblogging is composed of; Twitter and Tumblr, Blogging includes; WordPress and Blogger, photo sharing composed of; Instagram, Flickr, Snapchat and Pinterest, Video Sharing includes; YouTube, Vimeo, and Periscope and Crowdsourcing are formed with Ushahidi, Inc. Among these categories, there are applications that made a name on the Internet especially on how they are adopted by the people. According to Digital Guide 1&1, Facebook is widely considered to be the mother of all social media platforms and its most basic functions consist of providing an outlet for its members to communicate with each other as well as with private companies. The power of social media platforms gives complex perspectives on the range of its usage and the extent of people they have reached out in order to portray interaction in social, economic and even political views. As social media continues to develop, the scope of the people that use its features does not limit however it increases and form a society of innovations and susceptibility. In today's generations, every individual is much thankful to acquire all the developments from their ancestors that contributes to the idea of transformation and development of new phase and era. People don't need a lot of effort and hard works to achieve their desires and necessities. Even if you are just sitting down with the presence of modern devices, anything can be access, there a lot of things you can, A lot of the parents told their children that in their times, they have to exert all their strength and perseverance to overcome every challenge in life, unlike in this current situation we are facing, everything can be controlled in your own hands. The situations in the past are the major causes of advancements because there are people who are willing to discover new things and ideas to produce a different kind of impact that would change the world for the better. Sahara Donnely as an entrepreneur in a private company states that â€Å"In every era, cultures go through numerous changes, and in recent years ours have been more impacted than anything else by social media†. The generation today cannot deny the fact that the most influential factor that brings influence and convenience to each and everyone is the discovery of social media platforms. The forms of communication have grown efficiently to unite the people and to make an impact on the progress of the country even in the world with the appearances of the platforms of social media. The website of Webmasterview of Crystal Briscode encloses a statement that â€Å"It is a fact that social media has tremendously changed the way people interact and carry on with their lives†. People are contented with the offerings of social media and they are afraid to offer themselves in the opportunities in the real world. The application of social media platforms serves as an avenue where you can communicate, purchase and even form transactions. The functions of social media help the people to be informed and updated to every activity that made up our environment. The modern technologies and also the products itself through social media platforms brought changes in the habitual practices of an individual and affects also their ability to adapt in terms of the resiliency of life. Social Media platforms have molded the life of every individual to have comfort and happiness. The Internet has its own attributes to enhance the connection within the people. As life continues to provide us with different challenges, we must not be contented with the benefits of social media platforms. It is important to find your own self with your own purpose on this earth. People must not be deprived of the advantages of social media platforms, however, we must acquire the value of learning is able to face every difficulty with confidence. Social media platforms as the major contributors to accessibility and effective communication, they provide risks also in this digital world. The children of this modern generation focus on the benefits of the modern technologies especially on discovery of new gadgets, they are not even expose to their environment. They are lost in their own world and let the social media conquers them. One Report by the Royal Society for Public Health in the UK surveyed 1500 young people, ages 14-24, to determine the effects of social media use on issues such as anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and body image. The findings show that YouTube had the most positive impact, while Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat all had negative effects on mental health. The social media platforms are used by the people to find connection, acceptance, and happiness that they could not find within their environment. Heavy use of these media channels contributes to other harmful actions and addiction that let every individual be swallowed by the chances of innovations. According to Kessler et al., 2010, Mathers and Loncar, 2006, Depression and Anxiety are associated with substantially increased morbidity and mortality and one of the victims are the young adults and youth who are engaged with social media. It may also be that using a wide variety of different social media platforms subsequently leads to depressive and anxiety symptoms. Participation in many different social media platforms may lead to multitasking between platforms, which is known to be related to poor cognitive and mental health outcomes. (Becker et al., 2013). Another assumption that would provide an explanation to the usage of social media platforms states that a study published online in Computers in Human Behavior on December 10, 2016, found that the use of multiple social media platforms is more strongly associated with depression and anxiety among young adults than time spent online. Every social media platform is a different kind of world, people cannot resist the factors that affect them and leads to mood disorders. The engagement on the Internet does not free an individual to compare and be jealous thus it triggers to a more complex disorder of anxiety and depression. In the book of David Amerland entitled â€Å"The Social Media Mind†, he states, â€Å"Social Media is addictive precisely because it gives us something which the real world lacks; it gives us immediacy, direction, and value as an individual†. The social media platforms serve as our pathway in this digital world, it gives us the enjoyment of accessibility, communication, and entrepreneurial transactions. Anything that we need in our everyday living can be made through the Internet. The current events and opportunities nowadays are driven mostly by social media platforms. Even the modern technologies produced already a platform in the industry, the people behind it must focus also on the negative impacts of these channels to control any disorders that people can acquire because of different factors. Social media platforms serve as an awareness to limit oneself with the benefits they provide and most especially with the conflicts they produce in different circumstances. People in this world must learn how to make an impact on society and not focus on how to impress other people. Anything that can be found in social media platforms that can build anger and boastfulness must be prevented instead people must focus on the positivity in life that would implant the value of happiness and contentedness within themselves so that depression can be control and mitigates its unexpected effects.